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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Shakespeare's Sonnet 4

From
time to time I will post a few lines of commentary on the Shakespearean sonnets.
Though, of late, I have been proceeding in numerical order, I reserve the right
to deviate from that pattern.

Unthrifty
loveliness, why dost thou spend

Upon thyself thy
beauty’s legacy?

Nature’s
bequest gives nothing, but doth lend,

And, being
frank, she lends to those are free.

Then,
beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse

The bounteous
largess given thee to give?

Profitless
usurer, why dost thou use

So great a
sum of sums yet canst not live?

For having
traffic with thyself alone,

Thou of
thyself thy sweet self dost deceive.

Then how when
nature calls thee to be gone,

What
acceptable audit canst thou leave?

Thy unused
beauty must be tombed with thee,

Which usèd lives th' executor to
be.

With this sonnet, Shakespeare continues
his somewhat unusual and roundabout praise of the Fair Youth. Here, the subject
of the poem continues to be lectured, presumably for his reluctance to engage
in a romantic partnership.

For me, one interesting point here, as
is true of many of these Fair Youth sonnets, is just how odd this praise is. I
cannot think of any other literary source that chastises an individual for failing
to share his or her beauty with the world. Once again, the great poet almost
seems to be taking on the role of an interfering relative. That is, of course,
assuming that the voice of the poem is not extorting the subject of the poem to
establish a relationship with the writer himself.

What really stands out in these lines is
the financial metaphor. The unwillingness of the Fair Youth to form a romantic
attachment is compared to a profligate spender and bad investor. Words like
“Unthrifty,”“legacy,” “executor,” etc. emphasize
the point. This theme just adds to the quirkiness of it all. Once again, it is
not often that romantic solitude is compared to such pecuniary matters. With lines like “What acceptable audit canst thou leave?” I get the impression that Shakespeare may be
attempting to be playful with us.

On a side note, I also think that it is a
bit extraordinary that Shakespeare’s references to the world of money should be
so applicable and understandable some four hundred years later. The terminology
and concepts used here have remained remarkably consistent over time. Some
things have hardly changed!

I have used the word “sublime” to
describe other Shakespeare sonnets. I do not feel that these lines reach that
same level of aesthetic beauty. In fact, they likely were not meant to. The sonnets
are diverse little works, and sometimes the poet was not reaching for such sweeping
grandeur. Instead, I would use the words “very clever” to describe this verse.

30 comments:

Another commentary worthy of the great sonnet being considered. And I can personally identify with the financial metaphor, having spent my career in accounting and financial analysis. Seldom have I considered that a useful background for literary appreciation. Your recognition of the continuity of financial concepts is worth noting. While I suggest this sonnet at least has a beauty in its fascinating turns of phrase even if it does not reach the sublime heights of Shakespeare's best verse.

Wonderful commentary, Brian! The 'Fair Youth' sonnets are some of my favourites, particularly when in comparison with the 'Dark Lady' verses.

I bought a few books on the sonnets last year, when studying them at university, and I've been thinking I must go back to them. I remember they're by Michael Schoenfeldt and Don Paterson, and both very good.

This sonnet makes me wonder what effect it had on the person it was written to, if there was an individual that it was meant for! Controversies over this, I know.

By the way, you are the winner of the giveaway of Black Chalk, on my blog. I have sent you an email, buat in case you do not receive it, do email me at harvee44@yahoo.com so that I can pass along a mailing address for you to TLC Book Tours, the promoter!

This was hard work - understanding the sonnet I mean. I'm glad for your commentary. The first word already puzzled me no end. It's not one I'd call "lovely" but it's interesting because of its recurring theme.

Hi Jane - I think that these works are indeed the writer trying to pressure the Fair Youth into a relationship with someone. The reasoning and at times the imagery does seem difficult to comprehend. There is a school of thought that they are parody.

You raise a good point. I get something out of hearing Shakespeare that I do not get out of reading him. On the other hand reading him provides me with a level of comprehension that I cannot get from just listening. Thus I think that it is best to do both.

Hi Brian, I do enjoy Shakespeare's sonnets. Like you say, his references still apply all this time later, but isn't that always the way with the all the greats?

I like these lines:"Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee,Which usèd lives th' executor to be"...the way he mentions an executor of her beauty, like you mention, he's toying with us. The financial metaphors are pretty neat.

On another note, what do you think of those theories that he didn't write all of his work?

I don't have anything to add to your great commentary or to the comments, but I greatly enjoyed reading this post. I'm starting on a poetry survey, and I find it a bit difficult. I think it'll get easier as I go along. The Iliad is kicking my tail! :)I'm looking forward to Shakespeare. This sonnet seems fun, chiding and a little cheeky. I can see myself in this poem as I nudge my son to get out there and date some sweet girl!

There is so much of Shakespeare work I have never encountered. I think, for me anyway, it is easier to read and process when I have read your review and breakdown of it first. Wonderfully done, I look forward to more!

Hi Lainy - The only thing about my commentary is that I do not always focus in the main point, but instead sometimes talk about something that is just nteresting to me. Hopefully it is at least it is good stuff for thought and conversation.

Hmm. Well, I'm outing myself here as a Marlovian. :) I think that Christopher Marlowe was the real author of Shakespeare's works, although I'm not fanatical about it and I could be entirely wrong. I think Marlowe, who was gay, is grumbling about a young man who won't succumb to his (dubious?) charms. Maybe the youth wanted to be paid for his (ahem!) services and Marlowe's use of financial metaphor reflects this? I don't know. Just a thought.

Hi Violet - One reason that I discounted the Marlowe theory is that the the admittedly little that I have read of Marlowe (only Doctor Faustus) seems to be have written by a different person from Shakespeare works. The style is just so different.

You raise a good point about the author whoever he was of the Sonnets. It seems incontrovertible that to some degree he held erotic thoughts concerning the Fair Youth. Based upon the how exuberant the language is in these works, I would not even call these thoughts subtle or surprised.

I used to discount the anti-Stratfordians, but it seems to me that the Marlowe theory could have some credence. It's just another conspiracy theory, but an interesting one, I think. This is a good overview of the issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_authorship_question

Some people get very heated about it all, but I'm not bothered one way or the other. However, the Marlowe theory does enhance my view of the Elizabethan era as being awash with skulduggery and strange doings. :)

I'm afraid I don't quite get these early sonnets. Many of Shakespeare's sonnets seem to refer to some private event or events that we can but guess at: that's what makes them so fascinating. But in the later sonnets, there is a tremendous emotional investment on the part of the poet: here, he seems merely to be haranguing someone for reasons unknown, and, while it touches on on the characteristically Shakespearean theme of the transience of beauty, it leaves me rather uninvolved. For mme, it's only after the first 20 or so that this sequence of sonnets really gets going!

(I deleted the two previous commenst because of a couple of typos....I can't help being a perfectionist! Lol.)

Wonderful and insightful commentary as usual, Brian! I totally agree with you that The Bard was not attempting to ascend to the sublime heights with this sonnet. And, I must sheepishly confess, this is the very first time I have read it. Now another confession: I don't like this sonnet at all, which surprises me, because I do love Shakespeare's work; well, what I've read of it, that is. I was assigned several important Shakespearean plays in high school, such as "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (this one, by the way, inspired the title of my blog), "Romeo and Juliet", and "The Merchant of Venice".

For some reason, I remember part of Portia's speech, from "The Merchant of Venice":

"The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest. It blesses him that gives and him that takes. 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown." It goes on after this, of course, but this is all I remember. I cite it because I love these words. They are indeed sublime! And they express a universal truth, doing so in exquisite metaphors. In contrast, I got very little out of this sonnet.

Well, I guess not even Shakespeare wrote masterpieces all the time.....I hate to sort of criticize him for this, though. I mean, who am I to criticize this great poet? So I guess you're right; his intention in this particular sonnet was to express himself in a much more mundane way. Still, I can't help feeling somewhat disappointed....especially when I compare the sonnet to the "quality of mercy" speech!

Now this has whetted my appetite for some Shakespearean reading!! So maybe I'll return to one of the plays above, and let myself feast upon the sublime music of this immortal poet's words!!

I think that if Shakespeare had not written so much I might have begrudged this one. However not only do we have all those play, but he also wrote lots of Sonnets, some of which are great. May I suggest that by "letting his hair down" once in a while it may actaully have I improved his body of work by giving it a little balence?

That is a great quote to memorize. It does indeed reflect a universal truth and coincides with my thinking lately.